It says here: "The Barclaycard Mercury prize 2012 albums of the year will be revealed at 5.30pm on 12 September ... the announcement, made by presenter and broadcaster Lauren Laverne, will be hosted by The Hospital Club in London's Covent Garden." And if that's not enough to get you out of bed, then what is?

We'll be bringing you those nominations the second they are announced this afternoon and we'll run a poll on who you think should be the ultimate winner on 1 November – plus our critic Alexis Petridis will wade in with his thoughts. But before then let us know who you'd most like to make it on to the list.

Remember: the shortlist of 12 albums of the year is chosen by an independent judging panel and – again I quote – "provides a snapshot of the year in music, recognising artistic achievement across a range of music genres".

For this year's prize, the eligibility period runs from 12 July 2011 to 10 September 2012 – so if you really want, the new xx album might make the cut – and it's recorded music of all genres by British or Irish artists only.